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Objective

RadioNet is an integrating activity that has pulled together ALL of Europe's leading radio astronomy facilities to produce a focused, coherent and integrated proposals that will significantly enhance the quality and quantity of science performed by European astronomers. RadioNet FP7 has 25 partners. They range from operators of major radio telescope facilities to laboratories that specialise in micro-electronics. This proposal has brought these institutes together in a unique partnership that builds and extends on RadioNet FP6. The programme of work includes: 7 Networking activities, 4 joint research activities and 9 transnational access projects. The three main objectives are to: (i) provide European astronomers access to world-class radio astronomy facilities; (ii) embark on a research and development plan that will further enhance and improve these facilities, and (iii) nurture and support a rapidly growing community of radio astronomers and engineers, so that can fully exploit the upgraded and next generation radio facilities that will become available over the next few years.

Europe has a very sophisticated network of radio-astronomical facilities that could contribute to research in a number of scientific fields. The EU is working fervently to create synergies and facilitate access to these facilities in order to further research on the topic.
One recent initiative in this direction was the EU-funded project 'Advanced radio astronomy in Europe' (RADIONET-FP7) . To achieve its aims, the project brought together 27 partners that operate the finest telescopes in Europe and worldwide and that conduct advanced R & D. It incorporated international facilities such as Chile's Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), New Zealand's upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA), China's Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) and the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT).
More specifically, beyond providing access to Europe and the world's key facilities, the project pooled resources, skills and expertise in the field. It furthered R & D for existing radio infrastructure and supported the Strategic Plan for European Astronomy (ASTRONET) through its new research community. This helped facilitate the development of new technologies and software, offering access to world-class facilities and supporting knowledge transfer.
Importantly, many research projects and EU-led joint research activities emerged from the initiative, exceeding the planned number of projects by about 75 %. These projects involved, for example, new software to process and analyse the large amounts of data from the different observatories.
RADIONET-FP7 also contributed to developing the next generation of astronomers and engineers, preparing as well for new, upcoming radio astronomy facilities. Training was provided for astronomers on the latest instruments and techniques.
Lastly, the project helped promote public knowledge of radio astronomy and fostered public understanding of science. These achievements are set to strengthen Europe's leading role in radio astronomy, foster R & D in the field and reinforce the EU's ever-growing knowledge economy.